Late Kim Sae-ron's Mother: "My Daughter Never Lied... Wants to Restore Her Honor"

First Public Statement After Daughter's Passing
"A Hellish Life Due to Cyber Wreckers' Lies"

The mother of the late actress Kim Sae-ron, who has been engaged in a dispute with actor Kim Soo-hyun over whether they dated during their minor years, has spoken out for the first time since her daughter's passing.

On the 14th, Kim Sae-ron's mother released a statement on the YouTube channel 'Garo Sero Research Institute' (hereafter 'Gaseyeon'), opening with, "Sae-ron never lied to the media," and added, "After much consideration, seeing the family's intentions being distorted and twisted, I decided to release this statement." She said, "Our goal is to restore the honor of a child whose reputation was destroyed in an instant by numerous false articles," and continued, "Along with this, we want to establish a foundation to legally punish the criminal acts of malicious YouTubers and cyber wreckers that are happening now and will continue to happen."

Late actor Kim Sae-ron. Photo by Yonhap News

She went on, "Lee Jin-ho and the cyber wreckers created false articles that dragged the daily life of an ordinary and promising young actress and her family into hell," and "Moreover, at Golden Medalist (Kim Soo-hyun's agency), Sae-ron's posted photos were disparaged as those of a confused girl 'with unclear intentions' who lies." She also stated, "All the sharp arrows of false articles were aimed at my young daughter who had just turned twenty, and she alone endured the insulting personal attacks and malicious comments," adding, "Sae-ron endured three years of sleepless and lonely struggle."

Kim Sae-ron's mother emphasized, "We, the bereaved family, only hope that Sae-ron, whom we can never see again, will fully regain the honor she was recognized for as an actress during her lifetime, and that this will serve as a motivation to establish legal and institutional measures so that the media can fulfill their mission and responsibility to prevent such incidents from recurring."

Earlier, Gaseyeon had announced the release of 'additional verified photos' related to Kim Soo-hyun on the same day but decided to withhold the photo release out of consideration for the bereaved family's position.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Kim Soo-hyun's side issued a statement regarding the allegations of dating Kim Sae-ron during her minor years and the pressure to repay debts.

Kim Soo-hyun's agency, Golden Medalist, explained, "Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron dated from the summer of 2019 to the fall of 2020, after Kim Sae-ron had become an adult," and stated, "It is not true that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor."

They also denied claims that Kim Soo-hyun ignored Kim Sae-ron's financial problems. The agency said, "The debt issue was entirely between Golden Medalist and Kim Sae-ron. The speculation that Kim Soo-hyun personally lent money to Kim Sae-ron or suddenly demanded repayment is unfounded," and clarified, "Kim Soo-hyun never lent money to Kim Sae-ron, never urged repayment, and was not in a position to do so."